Lecture 4: Philosophy and Augustine

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Lecture 4 Philosophy and Augustine

• Ann T. Orlando
• March 21, 2007

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Philosophical Background

• Athenian Philosophy Before Alexander the Great
  (356-332 BC)
• Socrates and Plato Platonism (and indirectly
  skepticism) Academy
• Aristotle Platos student, founder of Lyceum and
  Aristotelianism, taught Alexander
• Hellenistic Philosophy (see Acts 1718)
• Epicurus, fought in Alexanders army opposed to
  Plato, founder of Epicureanism the Garden
• Zeno opposed to Epicurus, founder of Stoicism
  the Stoa
• Neoplatonism centered in Alexandria 250 CE
• Note that ancient philosophy was considered a way
  of life not an academic discipline
• Catholic Christianity has always used
  contemporary philosophical methods as the
  language of theology and as an aid to interpret
  the Bible philosophy as the handmaid of
  theology. Example Virtue

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Platonism

• Platonism
• Happiness is found in choosing the good and the
  beautiful
• Uncertain whether virtue is learned or gift of
  gods
• The physical world is only a shadow of the real
  world
• Socrates always searching for knowledge (but does
  he ever find it?)
• God is not material

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Aristotle

• Aristotelianism
• Happiness is an activity of the soul in
  accordance with virtue
• Virtue is the mean between two vices as a prudent
  man would define it
• Knowledge leads to virtue exceptional people can
  make themselves virtuous
• Keen interest in the physical world especially
  systems of classification
• Metaphysics is Aristotles treatment of ethics
  it occurs in his works after physics
• God as prime mover and as the end (telos)

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Stoicism

• Happiness is following the will of God
• God everywhere, god as logos (rational
  necessity) god as a type of gas that permeates
  everything
• His providence rules everything (see Acts 1728)
• Ethics based on following Gods plan for you no
  free will emphasis on virtues judgment by God
  after death
• Natural law as part of Providences eternal law
• Passions are to be subordinated to intellect
• Allegorical interpretation of Greek myths
• Dominant philosophy of Roman Empire
• Seneca, Epictitus, Marcus Aurelius

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Epicureans

• God or gods are uninterested in created world
• Free will not bound by ties of family or duty
• No life after death
• Ethics based on pleasure
• Science and technology very important based on
  random motion of atoms
• Justice based upon contractual agreements
• Opposed to allegory and prophecy as a way of
  knowing
• Favored philosophy of intellectual Romans who
  wanted to withdraw from society
• Women encouraged to join as full members of
  schools
• Lucretius, Philodemus
• Roundly condemned by all other philosophies
  early rabbinic word for atheist is derived from
  Epicurus

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Justin Martyr (100-165)

• Justin and his Christian school at Rome seems to
  have been very well known
• Justin used many Stoic concepts in his apologies
  (he was, after all writing at time of Marcus
  Aurelius)
• Emphasized Christ as Logos
• One of the earliest descriptions of liturgy

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Tertullian (160-215)

• Born in Carthage, North Africa trained as a
  lawyer
• First Latin theologian much of vocabulary of
  theological Latin originated with him but also
  wrote some works in Greek
• Vehement works against Marion and gnostics
• More works extant from him than any other 2nd C
  author
• Critical influence on Cyprian (3rd C) and
  Augustine (4th C)
• Questioned some (but not all) use of philosophy
  in theology, What has Athens to do with
  Jerusalem

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Christian Systematic Theologian Origen
(185-254)

• Born in Alexandria towering giant over Eastern
  theology many debates trace to how to interpret
  Origen
• May have studied in same philosophical classes as
  Plotinus also knew St. Clement of Alexandria
• Traveled extensively, including to Rome and met
  with Hippolytus
• Wrote
• an apology, Contra Celsum
• Many Biblical commentaries, including on OT books
• Biblical scholarship Hexapla comparing Hebrew,
  and several different versions of Greek OT (not
  extant)
• Different ways to interpret bible, especially OT
  allegorically (debt to Philo, 1st C Alexandrian
  Jew)
• systematic presentation of Christianity On
  First Principles
• Suffered persecution during Decius reign,
  eventually died from wounds

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New Philosophical Development Neoplatonism

• Plotinus (204-270) Alexandria, pagan philosopher
• Considered himself a Platonist wanted to defend
  Plato against gnostics
• Knowledge of the One is available to everyone
• Steps to achieve spiritual unity with the One
• Material world is not bad (but not complete
  completion only in the One)
• Most important philosophical statement as
  solution of theodicy problem Evil is the absence
  of a good that should be there (see definition
  of evil in CCC)
• Most important Christian theologian influenced by
  Plotinus Augustine

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Importance of Augustine to Western Theology
Cannot Be Overstated

• For Western Christianity, he is the most
  important theologian from this period
• Arguably the most important theologian from any
  period
• Every serious Western theologian after Augustine
  must in some way deal with Augustine
• Augustine was the standard for doctrinal truth
  and theological method throughout the Middle Ages
• Aquinas (13th C) runs into trouble because
• He seems to abandon Augustines theological
  method (Neoplatonism) for Aristotlianism
• But also because of primacy of intellect over
  will
• Open any page of ST and see number of references
  to Augustine
• Renaissance starts when Petrarch reads the
  Confessions
• In Reformation Luther and Calvin claim Augustine
  for themselves in opposition to Scholasticism
• Augustine is patron saint of Jansenists,
  Augustinus
• Enlightenment rejection of Christianity is
  specifically a rejection of Augustine
• Existentialists of 20th C continue campaign
  specifically against Augustine Albert Camus The
  Plague
• Thomas Merton Seven Story Mountain
• Freemans Closing of the Western Mind blames
  Augustine (and Catholicism in general) for loss
  of reason in Western world until Enlightenment
• Pope Benedict XVI has defined himself, and is
  often referred to as, an Augustinian theologian

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Critical and Defining Issues for Augustine

• Theodicy
• Relation between human nature and Gods grace
• Epistemology
• Primacy of love
• Man as a social being who should be completely
  motivated by properly ordered loves
• Love and do whatever you will
• Importance of friendship
• Heresies that Augustine argued against
• Arianism
• Donatism
• Manichaeism
• Pelagianism

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Donatism

• Started c. 313 in North Africa, named for a
  Christian Bishop in North Africa who protested
  the ordination of presbyters by a lapsed bishop
• What is the relationship of the minister to the
  sacrament?
• Does the validity of the sacrament depend on the
  personal virtue of the minister?
• However, this issue continued to be hotly
  contested leading to the Donatist movement in
  North Africa
• Wanted the Church to be the Church of the Pure
  especially the ministers

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Augustine Against Donatists

• More Donatist Christians in North Africa than
  Catholic Christian
• Donatist tried to assassinate Augustine
• Augustine gives clearest statement of Catholic
  Church position
• the validity of the sacrament is independent of
  the personal spiritual state of the minister
• Because of original sin, no one is pure all
  need forgiveness

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Controversy over Sex and Marriage

• Control of passions was important aspect of all
  philosophical schools of time, including
  Epicureanism
• Manichees (like many gnostic sects) opposed to
  sex because part of evil, corporeal world
• Jovinian, Priest in Rome, contemporary of Jerome
• Virgins and married women are of same merit after
  Baptism if they do the same works
• Everyone born again in Baptism cannot be
  overthrown by devil
• No difference in abstaining from food and
  receiving it in thanksgiving
• There is one reward in heaven for all who are
  baptized
• Jerome writes a refutation of Jovinian that is so
  anti-marriage that Jeromes friends in Rome try
  to confiscate it
• Jerome (NOT AUGUSTINE) The only reason to marry
  and have sex is to create more virgins

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Augustine and Sex

• Augustine wrote On the Goods of Marriage as the
  middle way between Jerome and Jovinian
• While viewing virginity as the better way of
  life, Augustine also recognized several types of
  goods in marriage
• Procreation
• Good of fidelity and unity
• Sacrament
• Sexual lust is a result of Fall
• Sin of Adam and Eve infected human nature

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Summary of Books IV-VI

• Book IV
• Teacher of rhetoric
• Takes a mistress, IV.ii
• Opposed to astrologers,
• Death of a friend who converts on death bed
  description of grief IV.iv
• Writes a book, On Fitting and Beautiful (no
  longer extant)
• Does not think Aristotles Categories important
  IV.xvi
• Book V
• Discovers that Manichees get astronomy wrong,
  therefore entire faith in them is shaken V.v
• Goes to Rome to find fame and fortune deceives
  Monica
• Trifles with being an Academic (skeptic)
• Goes to Milan to give an address before the
  Emperor
• Goes to hear Ambrose preach because of his
  reputation as an orator V.xiii
• Becomes a Catholic catechumen by default
• Book IV (Augustine is 30)
• Monica joins him in Milan
• Ambrose forbids Monica to go to tomb of martyrs
• Ambrose explains how to understand the OT
  allegory
• Alypius addicted to shows and circus falsely
  accused of theft

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Book VII

• Stoic concept of God filling universe
• What is evil?
• Importance of the Platonists (that is,
  Neoplatonists, Plotinus)
• Approaches love of God but weight of sexual
  habit diverts him from God.
• Rejection of Christological heresies
• What the Platonists dont have Christ
• Note importance of Paul (especially Romans) in
  these chapters

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Book VIII

• Accepts truth of Church
• Gives up ambition , but still tied to sex
• Hears story of conversion of famous pagan
  philosopher, Victorinus
• Servitude to passion, habit (vice) is formed
• Reads Life of Antony
• Wants to become Gods friend
• God grant me chastity, but not yet
• Conversion in the garden

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Book IX

• Augustine rejects his own will and desires God
  will
• Leaves teaching
• Remedy of the sacraments
• Goes to Cassiciacum with friends, Adeodatus, and
  Monica, writes Against the Academics and On the
  Happy Life
• Still has difficulty understanding some parts of
  OT Isaiah
• Baptism with Adeodatus
• Monica stands with Ambrose to fight the Arians
• Story of Monica addicted to wine
• Mystical experience of Augustine and Monica
• Monicas death
• Augustine addresses reader pray for Patrick and
  Monica at the altar

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Summary of Books X - XIII

• Book X (longest book)
• Augustines Confession X.ii
• Lord stir the hearts of those who read about my
  sins X.iii X.iv
• The power of memory
• What is the happy life joy based on truth
• Late have I loved You, beauty so old and so new,
  late have I loved You
• Still troubled by sexual temptations which live
  in his memory problem with gluttony
• Book XI
• What is time?
• Created time and Gods eternity meet in Christ
• Book XII
• Relationship between Platonic formless matter and
  creation ex nihilo
• Interpretation of Genesis 11
• What does it mean for Moses to be the author of
  Scripture, what did Moses have in mind?
• Scripture speaks to inner ear
• Book XIII
• How to understand the Trinity? Being, knowing,
  willing
• Heaven and earth allegorical interpretation
  spiritual and carnal members of Church
• Adams sin XIII.xx resulted in coming of Jesus
  Christ

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Assignments

• Read Books VII IX
• Write one-page paper
• CCC385, 464-469 Definition of evil